Description

The contributors to this volume address the issues arising from devolution and regional government in two ways. First of all, they explore the debates about devolution in Scotland, Wales and the English regions. This includes the historical development of the devolution proposals, the importance of national and regional identities, the changing devolution policies of the political parties and the approaches of business and other major interest groups towards it. Secondly, they discuss other political issues in the context of devolution and regionalisation. Thus the creation of Scottish and Welsh Parliaments and English regional assemblies will contribute to electoral reform because proportional representation has been proposed for the elections to them. The controversial issues of how the new assemblies and governments are to be financed is also discussed. The final essay covers the implications of the emergence of a devolved British state in which the different countries and regions achieve different levels of autonomy at different paces.